Hire the perfect party venue in Edinburgh

Mansfield Traquair is a former church whose walls Phoebe Anna Traquair covered in angels, gold leaf and deep, glowing colour, which is why it’s known as Edinburgh’s Sistine Chapel. You’ll do very little decorating.

The Nave is one of the largest Edinburgh party spaces. It holds 700 standing or 350 for dinner, so you can invite the whole company for a Christmas party or put on a black-tie gala without leaving anyone off the guest list. It also seats 600 theatre-style if the night opens with speeches or awards. Heritage Portfolio’s award-winning catering is on hand, and the in-house team runs the evening, so all you have to do is enjoy it.

Leith Arches has the party venue ambience: exposed brick and stonework, feature windows, a mezzanine, and an absolutely versatile party space. The team here know their business and will transform the space into whatever you need it to be, with an excellent lighting setup, PA system, and fully licensed bar stocking all the usual suspects alongside choice selections from Tennent’s and Drygate breweries.

For parties large and small, there are spaces for you. Choose from a full venue hire which can accommodate 180 guests, the mezzanine with a capacity of 60, Under the Arch Bar with a capacity of 50, and the Secret Garden outdoor space for smaller parties.

Whether you want to get hands-on providing your own catering, DJ/band, and entertainment, or you want to let Leith Arches handle all these fine details for you, there’s a reason this party venue is one of the best in Edinburgh.

Ghillie Dhu is a stunning Grade B-listed former church sitting in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle and one of the city’s most unique party venues. Ornate arches, feature chandeliers, and a lighting system worthy of a West End theatre.

There are a range of hire options from small catered parties, canapés and drink receptions to large parties and more. The award-winning Auditorium on the first floor of the Ghillie Dhu has a capacity of 300 standing, or 150 in a cabaret layout, making it a truly unique, standout party space.

Historic and elegant with all the conveniences a 21st-century party venue could need, the Ghillie Dhu offers a variety of hire packages, including a three-course meal, drinks on arrival, a DJ, and even a ceilidh band and a piper if you want to go all out.

Regularly featured on the world’s best bars lists, Panda & Sons is the classic speakeasy cocktail bar with a secret entrance behind a bookshelf. If you’re not the blank canvas party

venue type or party-in-a-brewery-taproom, then maybe you’re one for posting mysterious selfies with your face partly obscured by the smoke rising from your cocktail.

Throwing a party in a cocktail bar will never get old. Whether you’re starting the night there or ending with a nightcap, it’s where everybody has one too many and all the photo-taking is necessary to help you recall the night's events.

Panda & Sons has the mood lighting, the evocative turn-of-the-century decor, the requisite panda art on the walls, and the smoking cocktails – well, technically, it’s a result of cocktails designed to freezing techniques but you get the point, it looks dramatic.

The decor and design of Nauticus smacks of the old-timey pub and whisky bar: deep green walls, wooden floors, original crown moulding, chandeliers, and backlit deep wooden bar veritable glowing with spirits of all kinds.

Tucked away in Leith, this Edinburgh party venue is for the type that likes to keep things simple with a good old-fashioned pub. Alongside a plethora of beverages, enjoy dishes that champion Scottish produce, and an ambience that makes you feel like you should be wearing Harris tweed, smoking a cigar, and debating the merits of Lagavulin and Laphroaig.

Hire the entire pub or keep it small and cosy in a semi-private area that feels like a whisky-tasting room and a private library got together and had a party.